Floor tool

ABSTRACT

A floor tool for use in vacuum cleaning floor surfaces includes a sole plate that has a suction channel formed in it. The suction channel is bounded on at least one side by a working edge for engaging with the floor surface. Lint pickers are positioned alongside the suction channel and are separated from the suction channel by the working edge. The lint pickers are mounted on a surface of the floor tool which is inclined with respect to the plane in which the working edges lie. The sole plate is pivotally mounted with respect to a suction outlet so that movement of the floor tool in a forward and backwards direction alternately brings one of the working edges into closer contact with the floor surface.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a floor tool for use with a vacuum cleaner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cylinder or canister vacuum cleaners, as shown in FIG. 1, generallycomprise a main body 10 which contains separating apparatus 11 such as acyclonic separator or a bag for separating dirt and dust from anincoming dirty airflow. The dirty airflow is introduced to the main body10 via a hose 15 and wand 16 assembly which is connected to the mainbody 10. The main body 10 of the cleaner is dragged along by the hose asa user moves around a room. A cleaning tool 20 is attached to the remoteend 17 of the hose and wand assembly. A range of cleaning tools areusually supplied so that a user can choose an appropriate tool for theircleaning task, such as crevice tool and a brush tool. The cleaning toolwhich is used for general cleaning is a floor tool 20. FIG. 2 shows theunderside of a floor tool sold by DYSON™ and shown more fully inRegistered Design GB 2,074,319. The floor tool 20 is a wide tool with asole plate on its lower side that glides over the floor surface. Thesole plate has a suction inlet 21 and a suction channel 22–25communicating with the inlet 21. The tool 20 is pushed backwards andforwards across a floor surface by a user. Air is drawn into the inlet21 via the suction channels 22–25. Air reaches the channels 22–25 viainlets at the edges of the tool and via leakage between the sole plateof the tool and the floor surface. As the floor tool 20 passes over thefloor surface, dirt, dust and other debris is carried along the suctionchannels 22–25 to the suction inlet 21 and along the hose and wand 15,16 to the separator 11 in the main body 10 of the vacuum cleaner.

While floor tools of the kind shown in FIG. 1 work well on hard floorsurfaces, they are less effective on carpeted floors where hair, fluffand other fibrous material, collectively called ‘lint’, become trappedon the carpet. Thus, efforts have been made to improve the pick upperformance of floor tools on carpeted floors. Some tools have a brushmounted in the suction inlet which is rotated so as to agitate the floorsurface in the same manner as the brush bar of an upright vacuumcleaner. The brush can be rotated by the use of an air turbine or by anelectric motor which is powered by a power supply derived from the mainbody of the cleaner. However, this type of tool is more expensive thanthe passive floor tool.

Efforts have also been made to improve floor tools in a more passivemanner. Floor tools usually have one or more lint pickers 30, 35 mountedon the sole plate. A lint picker is a strip of material into which aplurality of tufts of fine hair are secured. All of the tufts arealigned in the same direction with respect to the sole plate. The lintpicker acts as a one-way gate, allowing lint to pass under the lintpicker when the floor tool is pushed along the floor, but to block thelint when the floor tool is pulled backwards. The repeated forward andbackwards action of the floor tool across the floor surface traps thelint and rolls it into a ball such that it can be sucked by the floortool. Each lint picker is mounted within a recessed portion of the soleplate. However, the pick-up performance of such tools is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to improve the pick-up performance of apassive floor tool.

An aspect of the present invention provides a floor tool for use invacuum cleaning floor surfaces comprising a sole plate comprising asuction channel, the channel being bounded on at least one side by aworking edge and a lint picker which is positioned alongside the suctionchannel and is separated from the suction channel by the working edge,wherein the working edge is suitable for engaging with and agitating afloor surface across its full width, all of the working edge lying inthe same plane.

It has been found unnecessary to recess the lint picker and to break theworking edge in order to accommodate the lint picker. Positioning thelint picker such that it is separated from the suction channel by theworking edge provides a full effective working edge which maximisesagitation to the floor surface. The lint picker is also able to operateon the floor surface.

Preferably the lower face of the floor tool adjacent to the working edgeand on the side of the working edge remote from the suction channel isinclined with respect to the plane in which the working edges lie. Thissupports the lint pickers such that they are close enough to the floorsurface to provide a useful action.

Preferably, agitation is further improved by providing a working edgewith a sharply defined, angular, edge with a minimal radius ofcurvature. An edge having a radius of around 0.2 mm has been found to beeffective.

The pick up performance of the tool is further improved by pivotablysupporting the floor tool such that the working edges on each side ofthe suction channel are alternately brought into contact with the floorsurface as the floor tool is pushed and pulled across the surface. Asone of the working edges is brought into contact with the floor surface,the other raises slightly to allow air to bleed into the suctionchannel. This improves the agitating effect on the floor surface andreduces the motion resistance or push-force required to move the floortool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a known cylinder type of vacuum cleaner;

FIG. 2 shows a known type of floor tool for use with the cleaner of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 shows a floor tool in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section through the sole plate of the floor tool ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an isometric view of the floor tool in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the floor tool of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section through the floor tool;

FIG. 8 is a simplified cross-section of the floor tool, and

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the sole plate of the floor tool in use as the toolis moved forwardly and backwardly across a floor surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the floor tool 50 comprises a housing havinga lower plate 55, or sole plate, which is intended to ride along a floorsurface. The sole plate 55 is fully shown in FIG. 3. For case ofunderstanding in the following description, the arrowed line X in FIG. 3indicates the longitudinal direction and the arrowed line Y thetransverse direction. The sole plate 55 has a centrally mounted airinlet 60 which communicates via a conduit to the outlet 100. Outlet 100is suitably dimensioned to connect to a hose or wand of a vacuum cleaneras shown in FIG. 1. Two suction channels 61, 62 extend transverselyacross the tool each side of the inlet 60. Each channel decreases indepth towards the sides of the tool and terminates in an inlet 63, 64 onthe side of the tool. The length of channel 61, 62 (L_(C)) is shown hereas being about one third of the total length (L_(T)) of the tool butthis proportion can be varied. The side walls 75, 76 of the channels 61,62 are sharply angled with respect to the inner face 77 of the channels.Forwardly and rearwardly of the suction channel 61, 62, the sole plateis formed as two planar surfaces 65, 66 which are inclined with respectto a plane W in which the working edges 80, 82 both lie. Theintersection between the planar surface 65 and side wall 75 of thechannel is a forward working edge 80 and the intersection between theplanar surface 66 and side wall 76 of the channel is a rearward workingedge 82. The working edges are sharply defined, as shown in FIG. 4, soas to provide an effective agitating action when the floor tool is usedon carpeted surfaces. A radius of curvature of 0.15 mm on the workingedges 80, 82 has been found to be effective although it will be apparentthat a range of other values could also provide a similarly effectiveagitating action. The working edges 80, 82 extend across the full widthof the floor tool. Lint pickers 70, 72 are positioned on the planarsurfaces 65, 66 and are spaced from the working edges 80, 82 so that theworking edges can perform an agitating action on carpeted surfacesacross their full width. Each of the lint pickers 70, 72 is of aconventional type, comprising a strip of material in which a pluralityof tufts of fine fibre are secured. Each lint picker 70, 72 is securedon an arcuately-shaped support that extends outwardly from the planarsurface 65, 66 on which it is located, as shown in FIG. 4. The spacingof the lint pickers 70, 72 from the adjacent working edge 80, 82 can bevaried from the spacing as shown in the drawings. For example, lintpicker 72 could be positioned nearer to working edge 82. The lintpickers in FIG. 3 are approximately one third to one half of the totalwidth of the tool 50. The use of lint pickers causes an increase in theforce that a user requires to push or pull the floor tool across a floorsurface. It would be possible to increase the width of the lint pickers70, 72 to substantially equal to the total width of the floor toolalthough this would incur an increase in the push force required by auser.

FIG. 8 is a simplified cross-section of the floor tool, showing the mainparts of the tool. Sole plate 55 is pivotally connected at 105 to asupport member 120. The support member 120 supports wheels or rollers90, 91 for rolling along the floor surface and also has as a suctionconduit for guiding air from the sole plate 55. The support member 120is pivotally connected at its rearmost end to the outlet pipe 100. FIG.8 shows the pivotal connection between the sole plate 55 and supportmember 120 as being directly above the centre of the suction channel 60,61, 62. This is the ideal position of the pivotal connection. Theembodiment shown in FIGS. 5–7 has the pivotal connection 105 above thesuction channel 60, 61, 62 but offset from the dead centre of thesuction channel.

The sole plate 55 pivotally connects to the support member 120. Theconnection between the sole plate 55 and support member 120 allows alimited degree of movement between these parts while maintaining a goodseal between the parts. Movement of the sole plate 55 is restricted byprojections 123, 124 (FIG. 7) and 125 (FIG. 5) on the support member120. Anti-clockwise (rearward) movement of the sole plate is restrictedby the projections 123, 124 which engage with the upper surface of thesole plate. Clockwise (forward) movement of the sole plate 55 isrestricted by surface 125 of the support member 120 which extendsradially outwardly from the pivot point 105 between arms 121, 122. Acorresponding radially extending surface 126 on the sole plate 55 liesflat against surface 125 when the extent of forward movement has beenreached.

As shown in FIG. 7, the outlet 100 comprises a first part 101 and asecond part 102. The first part 101 is pivotally mounted to the supportmember 120 about an axis passing through the centres of the wheels 90,91. The second part 102 is an angled pipe which is rotatably connectedto the distal end of the first part 101 about the longitudinal axis 101a of the part 101 so as to allow rotation of the angled pipe 102. Suchan arrangement allows a good level of maneuverability of the floor toolwhen in use and is commonly employed in known floor tools. The angledpipe portion 102 is shaped and dimensioned so as to be connectable tothe wand 16 of a domestic vacuum cleaner, as shown in FIG. 1. In use,air is drawn through the tool in the directions of the arrowed lines.

FIGS. 9 & 10 show how the floor tool 50 operates in use. Firstly, FIG. 9shows the floor tool 50 as it is pushed forwardly across a floorsurface. As the tool is pushed forwardly, the sole plate 55 rotatesabout pivot 105 (FIG. 7), bringing the forward working edge 80 intocloser contact with the floor surface 150 than the rear working edge 82.The sharp edge 80 has an effective agitating effect on the surface,parting the pile of the surface and releasing dirt in a flicking action.As dirt is released, it is swept along the suction channel 61, 62 by theairflow in the suction channel towards suction inlet 60. Also, forwardlint picker 70 is brought into contact with the floor surface. In itslowered position, the forward lint picker 70 allows lint to pass. Therear lint picker 72 remains close enough to the surface to serve auseful blocking action on lint.

FIG. 10 shows the floor tool 50 as it is pushed rearwardly across afloor surface. As the tool is pushed rearwardly, the sole plate 55rotates about pivot 105, bringing the rear working edge 82 into closercontact with the floor surface 150 than the forward working edge 80. Thesharp edge 82 has the same effect as forward edge 80 did during theforward action, i.e. it agitates the surface, parting the pile of thesurface and releasing dirt in a flicking action. Dirt is swept along thesuction channel 61, 62 by the airflow in the suction channel towardssuction inlet 60. Rear lint picker 72 is brought into contact with thefloor surface 150 and allows lint to pass. The forward lint picker,while raised higher than it would be during the forward action, remainsclose enough to the surface 150 to block the passage of lint. It can beseen that once the floor tool has passed over lint, the lint becomestrapped between the lint pickers and is prised from the surface.

In a conventional manner, the floor tool 50 also comprises a skirt 68 offlexible bristles which surrounds, but is not part of, the sole plate55. The skirt 68 is movable between a deployed position, for use withcleaning hard floors, in which the skirt rides along the hard floorsurface and serves to space the sole plate 55 from the floor surface,and a retracted position, for use when cleaning carpets, where the soleplate 55 is able to contact the floor surface and the skirt 68 isretracted sufficiently not to impede movement of the floor tool acrossthe carpeted surface.

1. A floor tool for use in vacuum cleaning floor surfaces, comprising asole plate comprising a suction channel, the channel being bounded onfront and rear sides by two continuous working edges extending the widthof the floor tool and lying in a common plane, the working edges lyingadjacent corresponding lower faces of the sole plate which are inclinedwith respect to the plane in which the working edges lie, and lintpickers mounted on the lower faces, each lint picker being positionedalongside the suction channel and separated from the suction channel byits corresponding working edge, wherein the working edges are configuredso as to alternatively engage with and agitate a floor surface acrosstheir full widths.
 2. A floor tool according to claim 1, wherein thesuction channel extends across the tool transversely to the direction inwhich the tool is configured to be pushed across the floor surface.
 3. Afloor tool according to claim 1, wherein the lint pickers are mounted onsupports which project outwardly from the inclined lower faces.
 4. Afloor tool according to claim 3, wherein the supports are arcuatelyshaped.
 5. A floor tool according to claim 1, wherein the sole plate ispivotally mounted with respect to the suction outlet such that movementof the floor tool in a forward and backwards direction alternatelybrings one of the working edges in closer contact with the floorsurface.
 6. A floor tool according to claim 1, 2 or 5, wherein theworking edges are angular edges.
 7. A floor tool according to claim 6,wherein each working edge has a radius of curvature substantially equalto 0.2 mm.
 8. A floor tool according to claim 1, 2 or 5, wherein thelint pickers extend across more than one third of the width of thesuction channel.
 9. A floor tool according to claim 7, wherein the lintpickers extend across substantially one half of the width of the suctionchannel.
 10. A floor tool according to claim 8, wherein the lint pickersextend across substantially the full width of the suction channel.